Mugabe
given another six months to call by-elections

A Zimbabwean has court given Robert Mugabe another six
months to call for by-elections, after the ZANU PF leader sought an
extension on the deadline to set an election date.

Judge President
Justice George Chiweshe passed down the decision late on Tuesday
evening.

Mugabe was in August granted an extension on the original court
ordered deadline to call for the by-elections. That deadline was
Monday.

But Mugabe’s legal team last week filed another court application
seeking more time, using Mugabe’s plans to hold general elections next March
as the justification for another delay. According to the court papers,
Mugabe plans to hold harmonised general elections in March following a
constitutional referendum next month.

The case goes back to last
October when MPs Abednico Bhebhe, Njabuliso Mguni and Norman Mpofu were
fired as MPs for Nkayi South, Lupane East and Bulilima East by the Welshman
Ncube-led MDC. This followed accusations that they were siding with the MDC
led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

The MPs then petitioned the High
Court to direct the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC), its chief elections
officer Lovemore Sekeramayi and Mugabe to facilitate the by-elections. The
matter was presided over by Justice Nicholas Ndou last year who ordered the
by-election process to begin without delay. Ndou dismissed the case against
ZEC and Sekeremayi, but upheld the case against Mugabe, ruling that
according to the Constitution Mugabe had the power to call for the
constituency elections.

The decision was appealed with the Mugabe legal
team insisting there isn’t money to have by-elections in all the
constituencies where there is a vacancy. The recent death of MDC-T Senator
Josiah Rimbi from the Chipinge constituency has raised the total number of
constituency vacancies to 39, with Parliamentary seat vacancies now at
27.

At the same time, more than a 160 local authority seats are
reportedly empty. Observers have said that if Mugabe does call for
by-elections to cover all theses vacancies, this would amount to a mini
general election.

Mashonaland
farmers face eviction after ZANU PF order

A group of farmers in the Mashonaland Central province face imminent
eviction from their land, after an order from a ZANU PF led committee to
vacate their properties this week.

The chairperson of the provincial
lands committee, ZANU PF’s Martin Dinha, handed down the order on Monday. He
said that a team of police officers, district administrators and other
government officials would be dispatched to the farms on Tuesday to pressure
the white farmers to wind up their operations and leave. The farms have been
earmarked for seizure under the land grab campaign that a regional human
rights court said is unlawful.

Charles Taffs, the President of the
Commercial Farmers Union (CFU) expressed concern for the fate of the
farmers, saying such actions “undermine the agricultural
sector.”

“This is a biased and racist campaign and it is of huge concern,
especially since the country is starving. These farmers were farming in good
faith and had started irrigating,” Taffs explained.

ZANU PF’s Dinha
is also part of the Zimbabwean legal team that has been fighting against a
landmark ruling in a South African court, which has upheld the regional
ruling in Zimbabwe’s land grab. The Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa
last month dismissed an appeal lodged by the Zim government against the
court decision, which ordered the compensation of some farmers who lost land
in Zimbabwe.

Taffs told SW Radio Africa that this court decision could
likely have triggered the latest threats against the remaining white farmers
in Zimbabwe, explaining that “every time we do something like this, there is
a counter measure by the government.”

The order from Dinha followed a
similar, country wide directive from the Attorney General Johannes Tomana
last month. Tomana said that all farmers who were “resisting” eviction must
be arrested.

Taffs explained that another likely cause of this fresh
campaign against the farmers is the fact that the country is once again
headed towards elections.

“White farmers always bear the brunt of things
when we head towards elections. And it’s already happening across the
country,” Taffs warned.

Meanwhile, a group of Dutch farmers who lost land
in Zimbabwe have stepped up their campaign to force the Zim government to
compensate them for their seized land. The farmers, who were meant to be
protected by a bilateral investment protection agreement with Zimbabwe, were
evicted from their farms at the height of the land grab between 2000 and
2002.

The group of farmers took their case to the International Centre
for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which ruled in their
favour in 2009 and ordered Zimbabwe to pay them 8.8 million euros
compensation, with an additional 10% interest for every year since the farms
were seized. Under this court decision they are now entitled to more than 23
million euros.

The Netherlands has since been pressuring Zimbabwe to make
a payment plan and earlier this year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti promised
to submit a proposal. But he has failed to do so.

“We wanted to take
action earlier, but decided to wait for Biti’s proposal,” the group’s
chairman Lion Benjamins told a Dutch daily newspaper, adding: “But now we’re
sick of waiting, so have decided to take steps to show Zimbabwe we’re
serious.”

The group has launched the website Justice Zimbabwe and is
lobbying European parliamentarians to ensure that the EU refuses to lift its
targeted sanctions on Zimbabwe until the compensation is paid.

Dutch
farmers demand US$23m compensation

A GROUP of Dutch farmers who were forced off their
land in Zimbabwe has launched a campaign to force the government to pay them
compensation.

The group lost their land between 2000 and 2002 when
Zimbabwe embarked on controversial land reforms. They did not receive any
compensation which the group claimed was a violation of the Investment
Protection Agreement (IBO) which the Netherlands had made with
Zimbabwe.

They took their case to the International Centre for the
Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a Washington-based court which
operates under the aegis of the World Bank. The ICSID ruled in their favour
in 2009 and ordered Zimbabwe to pay them 8.8 million euros compensation, to
be increased by 10 percent for each year since the land grab.

The
group are now entitled to a sum of more 23 million euros and the Dutch
government has has been pressuring Zimbabwe over the past two years to
fulfil its international obligations with a special envoy appointed in 2010
who having travelled regularly to Zimbabwe to negotiate with local
officials.

Earlier this year, Finance Minister Tendai Biti promised
to put forward a payment proposal. So far he has not honoured this promise
despite being asked to do so in a letter from the Dutch Foreign Minister in
August.

“We wanted to take action earlier, but decided to wait for Biti’s
proposal,” the group’s chairman Lion Benjamins told a Dutch daily. “But now
we’re sick of waiting, so have decided to take steps to show Zimbabwe we’re
serious.”

The group is lobbying European parliamentarians to ensure that
the EU refuse to lift its sanctions on Zimbabwe until the compensation is
paid. They also hope to persuade the Dutch government to use its right of
veto if Zimbabwe asks the Paris Club for debt relief.

The Dutch
Ministry of Economic Affairs says it supports the farmers but is “not in a
position to take over the payment”.

The group is also active in the UK,
lobbying the government to release frozen Mugabe assets in order to pay the
compensation.

Amnesty
Urges Zimbabwe to Save Murambatsvina Victims

Amnesty International says Zimbabwe’s unity
government should cater for the needs of thousands of victims of the 2005
Operation Murambatsvina who are currently living in squalid
conditions.

Officially marking World Habitat Day in the country’s second
largest city, Bulawayo, a top Amnesty official said most of the victims of
the massive operation are living in makeshift homes such as Ngozi Mine
compound in the city’s Richmond suburb and Killarney squatter
camp.

Amnesty International Zimbabwe researcher Simeon Mawanza said
affordable and adequate housing should be a priority for everyone and
therefore the government should respond to the needs of the victims of the
2005 clean up exercise.

“In terms of protection of human rights
governments are not expected to make excuses. They have to be seen to be
demonstrating that they are using the resources that they have to ensure
that everybody’s standard of living improves, including protection of
economic, social and cultural rights,” said Mawanza.

Precious Shumba
of the Harare Residents Trust told VOA Studio 7 the government is unwilling
to commit itself to the provision of houses for local people resulting in
serious shortages of appropriate shelter.

Shumba said: “Unfortunately the
(Harare) city council and the government have not invested in developing
land or housing development instead they have left this responsibility to
cooperatives which are also being hindered by rampant corruption.”

At
least 700,000 Murambatsvina victims lost their homes and informal businesses
nationwide as some of them dumped in places like Hopely Farm outside
Harare.

Some have been lucky to get houses under Operation Garikai of
Hlalani Kahle which was crafted to resettle displaced victims. The majority
are still homeless after failing to access so-called state-funded housing
schemes in towns and cities.

The United Nations has designated the
first Monday of October every year as World Habitat Day. The idea is to
reflect on the state of towns and cities and the basic right of all -
adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective
responsibility for the future of the human habitat.

This year the
United Nations chose the theme ‘Changing Cities, Building Opportunities’
noting that towns and cities are the engines of growth.

Under this theme,
UN-Habitat wants to underscore the need to properly plan urban settlements
in order to avoid chaotic development.

Mugabe,
Tsvangirai: Zimbabwe to Rush Drafting New Constitution

Zimbabwe's top political leaders met in Harare
Monday in their weekly principals’ meeting and tasked Constitution and
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Eric Matinenga to work closely with the
Constitution Parliamentary Select Committee (COPAC) to ensure the process
towards the Second All-Stakeholders’ Conference is speeded
up.

President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai also
agreed to closely monitor progress being made by the Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission in preparing for general elections likely to be held next
year.

The two noted that there is need to discuss the nation's voters
roll which is in a shambles as it features names of deceased and
non-existent people.

Matinenga is expected sometime this week to brief
the leaders on the constitution-making process which has been mired in
controversy with the ruling parties fighting over key contents of the draft
constitution.

The COPAC draft charter was agreed by the three parties in
the unity government though President Mugabe's Zanu PF party made a u-turn
and criticized some of its contents including a provision that limits the
power of the president.

The parties have now agreed to hold a
stakeholders indaba late October which will be closely followed by a
referendum.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was quoted last weekend as
saying the country does not have the necessary conditions for holding a free
and fair election.

Industry Minister and leader of the other Movement
for Democratic Change formation, Professor Welshman Ncube, did not attend
Monday’s meeting as he was said to be in the country's second largest city,
Bulawayo.

Tsvangirai spokesman Luke Tamborinyoka said the two leaders
also discussed the swearing-in of Morgan Komichi as deputy transport
minister, a position left vacant following the recent death of Tichaona
Mudzingwa.

Mugabe
backs down

HARARE - President
Robert Mugabe yesterday bowed to his coalition partners’ pressure and agreed
to a series of reforms including on the constitution-making
process.

Mugabe reportedly acceded to four key issues that had escalated
tensions in the troubled coalition government.

Mugabe’s climbdown
came in a Principals meeting held yesterday in Harare.

It came hot on the
heels of a rebellion by coalition partners Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,
his deputy Arthur Mutambara and Welshman Ncube, who were expressing
exasperation at the slow pace of reforms.

The Daily News heard that
Mugabe also finally agreed to set a date for the official ceremonial opening
of the next session of the present Parliament — its fifth and final
session.

Mugabe had left Parliament in limbo after failing to proclaim
the end of the fourth session. The fourth session was supposed to end on 24
July after which Mugabe would have opened a new session.

The Daily
News heard that Mugabe agreed in the Principals’ meeting to deliver his
speech soon to parliamentarians opening the new fifth session.

After the
official opening, Members of the House of Assembly and senators will likely
forego the customary adjournment and delve straight into the President’s
outline of the government’s plans for the new session.

Mugabe’s failure
to prorogue the legislature had forced Parliament to sit on an ad- hoc
basis.

Several Bills on the order paper had been stymied, including the
National Incomes and Pricing Commission Amendment Bill, two Private Member’s
Bills– the Urban Councils Amendment Bill and the Criminal Procedure and
Evidence Amendment Bill meant to repeal the now infamous section 121(3) of
the principal Act.

The Securities Amendment Bill and the Microfinance
Bill are also scheduled to be tabled during the forthcoming
session.

During the current session, only five Bills were passed: the
Electoral Amendment Bill, the Zimbabwe Human Rights Bill, the Older Persons
Bill, Finance Bill (2012) and Appropriation Bill (2012).

But Mugabe
is yet to sign into law the crucial Electoral Amendment Bill and the
Zimbabwe Human Rights Bill passed on August 19.

Nine weeks on, both bills
have still not been gazetted by the President as Acts of
Parliament.

There are mounting fears that without institutional reforms,
Zimbabwe’s forthcoming election, due by June next year, might be no
different from the violent 2008 polls that claimed over 200
lives.

The principals’ meeting also agreed that preparations for the
second all-stakeholders’ conference scheduled before the end of October be
expedited.

Luke Tamborinyoka, the PM’s spokesperson told the Daily
News: “The principals agreed that the minister of Parliamentary and
Constitutional Affairs minister (Eric) Matinenga will be the government
point person who will be working with Copac (Constitutional Parliamentary
Committee) to see to it that the second-all stakeholders’ conference is
expeditiously convened.”

Tamborinyoka said Mugabe had also agreed to
swear-in Morgen Komichi, Tsvangirai’s pick for deputy minister of Transport
and Infrastructure Development.

Mugabe had delayed the swearing-in of
Komichi to fill the vacancy created following the death of Tichaona
Mudzingwa in April this year. Only Mugabe, as the head of state, has powers
to swear-in government ministers.

“We expect him to be sworn-in soon,”
Tamborinyoka said.

The principals also agreed to meet with leaders of
constitutional commissions created by the inclusive government; especially
the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) headed by Simpson Mutambanengwe, a
former Zimbabwean Supreme Court judge who was serving as acting Chief
Justice in the Namibian Supreme Court.

“Principals hope to have
meetings with the commissions, especially Zec, basically to discuss
preparedness for elections and what they need and require so that the
principals will be able to determine when the next elections could be held,”
Tamborinyoka said.

The principals were also keen to talk to leaders of a
state-appointed media commission that has disciplinary powers to withdraw
journalists' licenses and confiscate equipment.

The commission,
mandated with driving media reforms, has licensed several private
newspapers, including the Daily News which was shut-down in 2003 and
returned to news stalls in 2011.

“The principals want to look at how
far they have gone in assisting the process of media reform which is a key
reform that needs to be implemented ahead of elections as well as looking at
how far they have gone in dealing with the issue of hate speech,”
Tamborinyoka said. - Gift Phiri

Three
MDC-T members hospitalized after ZANU PF attack in Gweru

Three MDC-T supporters, who were attacked
by ZANU PF thugs as they travelled to the party’s 13th Anniversary
celebrations on Saturday, are reported to be receiving treatment at Mpilo
General Hospital.

One other MDC-T member was arrested for taking pictures
of police at a roadblock.

SW Radio Africa correspondent, Lionel
Saungweme, said a delegation of MDC-T officials from Mashonaland West were
ambushed by ZANU PF thugs at Shangani Business Centre in Gweru, Matabeleland
North, around 4:30 in the morning on Saturday. They were headed to White
City Stadium for the party’s anniversary rally.

“They were surprised
when lots of stones started raining onto the bus from all directions and
hitting them. At least three were injured seriously and taken to hospital.
MDC-T President Morgan Tsvangirai and his wife Elizabeth are reported to
have visited them,” Saungweme said.

The hospitalized MDC-T members
include one identified as Darlington Serewu, who was “severely injured”
according to the MDC-T. Another injured party member, Trust Shayanewako, was
admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Other MDC-T members were treated and
released.

According to Saungweme, the MP for Insiza North, Andrew Langa,
has been implicated in the attack on MDC-T members at
Shangani.

“Langa is very notorious in Insiza where he works with a group
of ex-ZANLA war vets known to be violent. It has been alleged he coordinated
the attack,” Saungweme explained.

MP Langa gained a reputation when
he shot an MDC member inside a police station in Insiza, during the 2008
election campaign. Saungweme said he has close ties to ZANU PF heavyweight,
Emmerson Mnangagwa, and operates with impunity.

In a separate
incident, an MDC-T member was victimized by police on the same morning of
the Shangani attacks, when he took pictures of a police manned roadblock.
Saunhgweme said the MDC-T member, named Silas Mutero was arrested at
Fairbridge, in Mguza district outside Bulawayo and his pictures were
confiscated.

“They also took his phone and when they looked through
it they found some images that they alleged to be illegal. It is not clear
what Mutero is being charged with, but he is still in detention in
Bulawayo,” Saungweme said.

Meanhwile, addressing the press in Gweru,
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka said the
country cannot hold any election without finding lasting solutions to the
problem of political violence. He said the incidents are a sign of what to
expect ahead of elections due next year.

The MDC-T celebrated their
13th anniversary at a rally in Bulawayo on Saturday, where party President
Morgan Tsvangirai, introduced his new wife Elizabeth Macheka. In his
address, Tsvangirai assured supporters that they would not participate in
any elections if key reforms are not implemented first.

Glen
View cop murder trial postponed

The trial of 29 MDC-T members, facing charges of murdering a
policeman in Glen View last year, has been postponed until next week
following an application for leave by the defence team.

Clifford
Hlatywayo, spokesperson for the MDC-T Youth Assembly, told SW Radio Africa
that Justice Chinembiri Bhunu said Tuesday that the trial will continue on
October 8th, so he can have time off to deal with the issue of bail for the
jailed activists.

Justice Bhunu had reserved judgement in a fresh bail
hearing for the 29 accused last month, launched after new evidence was
introduced by the defence. At the time, he did not indicate when the High
Court decision would be handed down, claiming he was loaded with
work.

Hlatywayo said: “The excuse used by Bhunu not to give judgement on
the bail was that he did not have enough time. Given a whole week he should
have that time to deal with bail issues.”

The state claims Glen View
policeman Petros Mutedza was killed by the MDC-T members at a local pub. But
the party denies the charges and insist the arrests were a plot by ZANU PF
to destabilize their structures. They say there is evidence showing many of
the accused were not at the pub the night Mutedza was killed.

The
courts have denied bail to the MDC-T members on several occasions, claiming
they are flight risks. The trial has also dragged on at a slow pace, which
the MDC-T alleges to be a strategy to extend their time in
jail.

Hlatywayo said the jailed activists are in good spirits and are
aware that this is a political game. He added that they were encouraging the
youth assembly to continue working towards democracy in Zimbabwe, especially
after seeing how crowded the 13th anniversary celebrations were in Bulawayo
on Saturday.

The new evidence introduced last month came from
testimony by the father and brother of the slain cop. Both Solomon Mutedza
and son Tichaona appealed to the court to release the activists and
implicated ZANU PF elements in a plot to kill the Glen View cop. Tichaona is
the MDC-T chairperson of ward 2 in Mt Darwin and his father Solomon Mutedza
actually supports ZANU PF.

Zim
Diaspora newspaper planned for SA

A free newspaper specifically for Zimbabweans in the Diaspora is set
to be released next week in South Africa.

The paper, called the ‘Zim
Diaspora’ is going to print next Monday and aims to provide Zimbabweans a
space to share ideas and stories, and also find support.

The paper’s
creator Charles Matorera told SW Radio Africa that the newspaper is to
provide Zimbabweans in South Africa a platform for discussion and
support.

“There are lots of problems for us in South Africa so the
main issues we will be covering will be the challenges we face. Challenges
like how Zimbabweans are always taken advantage of and xenophobia,” Matorera
said.

He explained that newspaper will be a “community newspaper” that
will also give Zimbabweans the space to advertise. He said that he hopes the
paper will become a tool for education and support, saying a number of
experts, including individuals from the law and employment sectors, are on
board to help people solve their problems.

“This newspaper will be
available in all the places where Zimbabweans are all across South Africa,
so in Johannesburg at Park Station, even in Cape Town and Limpopo,” Matorera
said.

More information can be found on the Zim Diaspora Facebook page.
People can also contact the newspaper by email on zdiaspora@yahoo.co.za

We
have a distorted national heroes' history: PM

Tuesday, 02 October 2012
14:21HARARE - Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai yesterday said the country
was in a crisis after failing to honour true liberation heroes and heroines
who do not belong to Zanu PF.

Addressing mourners gathered for the
funeral of the late Vesta Sithole , wife to the late Ndabaningi Sithole in
Harare yesterday.

Tsvangirai said it was a travesty that real heroines
like Sithole who helped wage the armed struggle are not accorded such an
honour all because of political “mischief”.

He said there was need to
revisit the criteria used to determine conferral of national hero and
heroine status, which is currently the preserve of the Zanu PF
politburo.

The PM said there was urgent need to confer hero status even
to those who are not Zanu PF — people like Vesta Sithole.

“We have a
crisis, we have a distorted history of national heroes, and I think the next
government should revisit the measure that is being used when determining a
national hero,” he said.

“It is very sad that real heroines like Vesta
are not honoured all because of party politics. We might fail to correct
this anomaly now in the inclusive government but I hope the successive
government will correct it,” he added.

Vesta was wife to Zanu
Ndonga’s founding president and hero of the 1970s liberation struggle that
gave birth to the country’s independence from Britain in 1980.

She
also participated in the liberation struggle but Zanu PF refused to
recognise her as a heroine because she is not a member of the
party.

Born in 1942, Vesta joined the freedom fight in 1960 through Zapu,
a party that was led by her husband and the late vice president Joshua
Nkomo.

With her late husband Ndabaningi Sithole, she formed Zanu Ndonga,
a party that has remained popular in Chipinge.

Speaking at the same
funeral, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara said people like Vesta and
her late husband should be recognised beyond party political level as their
contributions to the country surpassindividual political parties.

“We
must respect wives of politicians because they are not ordinary people, Zanu
PF would have not been there had it not been for the likes of Vesta who
stood hard and braved to free this country,” Mutambara said. “They do not
belong to Zanu, but they are national figures.

“We must thrive to
build on a national shared legacy that is beyond small party politics. We
must respect women politicians who went into the liberation struggle, the
likes of Vesta, Margaret Dongo, Oppah Muchinguri and Mai Mujuru, they
represent a rare class of people,”said Mutambara.

The funeral was
attended by other political leaders from other parties like Dongo, Reketai
Semwayo, leader of Zanu Ndonga and Members of Parliament from across the
political divide. - Xolisani Ncube

Zimbabwe
Allows Private Millers to Import Maize

Deputy Agriculture Minister Seiso Moyo says private
millers are expected to start importing maize from neighboring nations as
grain stocks have seriously diminished in the country with just only 215,000
tonnes left in national silos.

Moyo told VOA Studio 7 the merchants
will complement efforts being made by the Grain Marketing Board (GMB) in
buying and importing maize and wheat for domestic consumption.

He
said the GMB which was the only entity engaged in these activities, is
failing to meet national needs as it owes transporters, farmers and other
creditors millions of dollars due to lack of funds.

Zimbabwe needs at
least 1.2 million tonnes of maize a year. The majority of starving people,
mostly in rural areas, say they are currently not receiving state-funded
drought relief aid.

Chitungwiza
town clerk as case to answer: court

A HARARE magistrate has dismissed an application for
discharge by former Chitungwiza town clerk Godfrey Tanyanyiwa who faces
corruption allegations involving close to US$1 million.

Regional
magistrate Hosea Mujaya had put off his ruling on Tanyanyiwa’s bid to have
the case dismissed saying he needed time to examine a video recording of one
of the transactions at the centre of the graft allegations.

And on
Tuesday, the magistrate told Tanyanyiwa that he had a case to answer and
should return to court for trial on October 16.

Currently out of custody
on US$1000 bail, Tanyanyiwa, 43, faces 52 counts of criminal abuse of
office, eight counts of fraud and a single count of corruptly concealing
from a principal personal interest in a transaction.

The state claims
that knowing he had no money to buy a house, Tanyanyiwa hatched a plan in
September 2010 to defraud Chitungwiza Municipality and took US$165,000 from
council coffers to buy a house in Chisipite.

He allegedly offered the
same house for rental to Chitungwiza Municipality director of urban
planning, Conrad Muchesa, without disclosing his personal interest in the
house.

The council paid him US$1,300 per month in rentals over five
months, suffering a prejudice of US$6,500.Tanyanyiwa is also accused of
corruptly acquiring three commercial stands using different shelf companies
as well as prejudicing his employer of $170,000 when he bought himself a
Toyota Land Cruiser V8 instead of acquiring three vehicles for the local
authority.

In addition, prosecutors charge that on 50 different occasions
he corruptly authorised various cash payments amounting to over $330,000 to
himself and top council officials.

My
hands are clean: Masunda

HARARE -
Harare mayor Muchadeyi Masunda says he is ready for a probe team set up by
Local Government minister to investigate his council, as he has nothing to
hide.

Ignatius Chombo, the Local Government minister, last week set up a
probe team that will investigate all council tenders for the past 24 months
as allegations of corruption and failure to follow laid down council
procedures emerge.

The probe team will among other things look into
how Cabs, a company owned by Old Mutual which is chaired by Masunda, got the
tender to construct 3 000 housing units in the high density suburb of
Budiriro.

Other terms of
reference for the team include probing how the local authority awarded space
for car sales and space for bill boards.

“I welcome the probe as I have
nothing to fear because I have never been in the business of keeping any
skeletons in the cupboard,” Masunda said. “I certainly do not intent to
start doing so now. By the way, the chairperson of Cabs is Leonard Tsumba. I
am the chairperson of Old Mutual Life Assurance of
Zimbabwe.”

Allegations being raised by Chombo against Masunda are that he
did not declare his interest when the housing deal was discussed by council,
a charge Masunda rejected.

Chombo also suspects that Masunda being
the chairperson for Old Mutual could have influenced the deal.

The
minister has in the past set up investigation teams to probe MDC-run
councils and this has resulted in some councillors being fired.

MDC
has in the past claimed that such teams are created by Chombo to milk and
discredit the MDC-run councils.

Since his party lost control of local
authorities a decade ago, Chombo has had a frosty relation with the MDC. -
Wendy Muperi and Xolisani Ncube

Man In
Trouble For Mocking Mugabe

By Professor Matodzi Harare, October
02, 2012 - A Zimbabwean man has landed himself in trouble for allegedly
mocking President Robert Mugabe for having diluted powers after forming a
coalition government with Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.Christopher
Mandeya (47) is answering charges of undermining the authority of or
insulting Mugabe in contravention of the Criminal Law (Codification and
Reform) Act.

According to State prosecutors, Mandeya, employed as a data
capture clerk, taunted Mugabe for losing powers under the power sharing
government, which brought in Tsvangirai as Prime
Minister.

Prosecutors said Mandeya allegedly uttered the following
words:

“Kwavane unity government, Zanu (PF) haichatonga pfutseke naMugabe
venyu, pfutseke nababa Chatunga”, which the State took to mean: “There is
now a unity government, Zanu (PF) is no longer in power, forsake your
Mugabe, forsake father Chatunga.”

“The accused had no right to insult
the president,” reads the state’s outline.

Prosecutors charge that
Mandeya uttered the insulting words when he was allegedly drunk at Chipadze
Business Centre in May.

Prosecutors also allege Mandeya was overhead by
an informant, Martin Mavhangira, aged 59.

Mandeya, who is being
represented by Denford Halimani of Wintertons Legal Practitioners and a
member lawyer of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), is currently out
of custody on bail.

Mandeya is the latest Zimbabwean to answer insult
charges, which have been nailed against dozens of
Zimbabweans.

Critics warn that insult cases could escalate as the
troubled southern African country trudges towards a referendum and a general
election, which President Mugabe wants held early next year.

Poor
roads cost Zimbabwe 'billions'

ZIMBABWE risks losing billions of dollars in potential
revenue as key infrastructure such as roads and railways continue to
deteriorate with government unable to secure funding for much-needed
rehabilitation work.

The country’s strategic location in the region has
seen it being used as a transit point for trade traffic to and from major
ports in South Africa, helping raise much-needed revenue for the
country.

But the poor state of the country’s roads is forcing freight
companies to look for alternative routes, Shipping and Freight Forwarders
Association of Zimbabwe chief executive Joseph Musariri
said.

Maintenance work on the country’s road network was either stopped
in the last decade due to a biting economic crisis and, although, some
projects such as the dualisation of major highways have resumed, the work is
continuing at a very slow pace.

Musariri said tmost companies were
now diverting traffic to the Kazungula border post between Botswana and
Zambia where a ferry is currently being used to cross the Zambezi River
although a major bridge is also under construction.

“We need to move
with speed in terms of dualising the country’ roads because, already, some
trucks are choosing to go through the Kazungula border post and should the
bridge be completed before our dualisation then we will be in trouble as
half the current trucks going north would use that route,” Musariri
said.

“Traffic flow at Beitbridge also needs to improve and facilities at
the post should be upgraded in line with the volume of business coming
through.”

Last month, Finance Minister Tendai Biti revealed that the
country needs over US$20 billion to upgrade its infrastructure."On
infrastructure alone, the country requires $14.5 billion. The mining sector
requires $5 to US$7 billion to be fully operational. Our country needs
capital in the form of foreign direct investment, lines of credit and cheap
access to finance,” Biti said.

Stop Loss of Borrowdale Vlei

Plans are underway for construction of a massive
shopping centre called the Mall of Zimbabwe on what is left of one of
Harare's few remaining wetland areas, the Borrowdale Vlei. These plans are
going ahead despite the fact that an independent environmental impact
assessment has not been undertaken.The wetlands of Harare, including the
Borrowdale Vlei, were gazetted protected wetlands by the Minister of
Environment on 27th July 2012. The Environmental Management Act overrides
the planning acts therefore it is not legally possible for the City of
Harare to issue a permit to develop this land.The ecosystem services of
flood attenuation and water purification are being over looked and the full
environmental ramifications need to be carefully considered. In addition,
wetlands play an important role in absorbing water in the wet season and
then releasing this water in dry seasons. There are 6.5 million people
living within the catchment system linked to the Borrowdale Vlei who are
dependent upon the water it stores and then releases. 40% of Harare's
residents are without municipal water and boreholes are rapidly drying up.
Wetlands such as the Borrowdale Vlei therefore serve a vital role in
supplying the city with water. We therefore urge Vice President Mujuru to
consider an alternative site for the Mall of Zimbabwe.

MDC condemns threats on Minister Biti

The MDC
strongly condemns the barbaric behaviour displayed this afternoon by some
self-styled war veterans who locked access doors into the Minister of
Finance, Hon. Tendai Biti’s government offices.

The behaviour is
totally uncalled for as it happens when the Finance Minister is frantically
trying to source revenue to fund various government projects including the
salaries for thousands of civil servants including their bonuses.

As
a party, the MDC applauds the tireless efforts being made by Minister Biti
at a time when the country’s natural resources are being looted by known
Zanu PF politicians. We urge the minister to remain resolute in finding a
lasting solution to the country’s problems and not to be swayed by empty
Zanu PF threats.

Instead of marching to Minister Biti’s offices, these
self-styled war veterans should have demonstrated at the offices of Obert
Mpofu, the Minister of Mines and Mining Development.

It is Mpofu and
other senior Zanu PF plunderers who have failed this country by failing to
remit proceeds worth millions of dollars from Chiadzwa diamonds to the
Treasury for the benefit of genuine former freedom fighters, civil servants,
pensioners and the people of Zimbabwe.

We know that these so-called war
veterans are hired thugs who have been made to hold a mock demonstration at
the minister’s offices in order to divert attention from the real looters of
the country’s resources who include Mpofu, Saviour Kasukuwere, Ignatius
Chombo and other senior Zanu PF officials. These are the corrupt politicians
who are buying helicopters, aeroplanes, boats and mansions outside the
country from the diamond proceeds.

The real war veterans know that
Minister Biti is trying hard under difficult circumstances to get the
country back on its feet but it is a mammoth task because of the looting of
the country’s resources. It is unfair for the Finance Minister to globetrot
the world with a begging bowl when the country has vast natural resources
that are benefiting only a few senior Zanu PF officials.

The MDC
notes with concern that this is not the first time that attempts have been
made to frustrate Minister Biti. On several occasions hired Zanu PF
supporters have besieged his offices since 2009 when the inclusive
government was formed.

In July 2009, he received a live 9mm bullet
and a written note enclosed in an envelope. The note advised Hon. Biti to
“prepare your will” but no arrests have been made since that threat was
made. Last year, his Harare residence was petrol bombed and again no arrests
have been made.

As the MDC we therefore condemn the police for standing
by while the life of a full Cabinet Minister is being put at
risk.

U.S.
higher education program marks 30 years in Zimbabwe

The Fulbright
Program, the United States of America’s flagship international education
program, will mark 30 years of exchange in Zimbabwe with a celebration on
Thursday. The U.S. Embassy Public Affairs Section and the Zimbabwe-United
States Alumni Association (ZUSAA) will host a seminar Thursday afternoon
followed by a reception at the Celebration Centre in
Harare.02.10.1204:14pm

by The
ZimbabweanHarare

“The Fulbright Program has connected our two
countries for 30 years in one of the most important ways possible – through
the creation of knowledge and professional skills, as well as through a
shared belief in educating the next generation,” says Sharon Hudson-Dean,
Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Harare.

“This
year, we are celebrating the many great academics who participated in the
program in the past, as well as encouraging tomorrow’s researchers, teachers
and professionals to seek out international exchange as a means to building
the country’s potential.”

The three hour seminar presentation in Harare
will highlight the successes of Zimbabweans who have participated in the
Fulbright program and brought their experiences back home. They include
government officials, business leaders and academics. Since its inception in
Zimbabwe in 1982, the program has enabled over 200 Zimbabweans to further
their studies in the U.S. and approximately 100 Americans to come to
Zimbabwe.

“The Fulbright program not only offers Zimbabweans
opportunities to undertake studies abroad, it also has a wide range of
capacity building which includes bringing experts to support our varied
development initiatives,” noted Sekai Holland, Minister of State in the
Prime Minister’s Office. From 1983-85, Minister Holland completed a
Fulbright grant pursuing a Masters of Science degree in Agricultural
Journalism at the University of Wisconsin.

Globally, the Fulbright
Program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide and has provided
approximately 318,000 participants with the opportunity to study, teach, or
conduct research in each others’ countries and exchange ideas. Approximately
8,000 grants are awarded annually. There are currently 18 Zimbabwean
Fulbright scholars pursuing PhD study in the U.S. in a wide range of fields
such as natural resources management, virology, biotechnology, applied
mathematics, media &amp; journalism studies and population
studies.

The statutory program was established by the U.S. Congress in
1946 and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs, which works with private non-profit
organizations in the United States and with U.S. embassies and bi-national
Fulbright Commissions abroad to administer the Program.

Fulbright
programs are varied. They include, but not limited to, the Fulbright Foreign
Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program which provides young teachers of
English as a Foreign Language the opportunity to refine their teaching
skills and broaden their knowledge of American culture and customs while
strengthening the instruction of foreign languages at colleges and
universities in the United States.

The International Fulbright Science
and Technology Award supports doctoral study at leading U.S. institutions in
science, technology, engineering or related fields for outstanding foreign
students. The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program brings outstanding
mid-career professionals from countries in states of development or
transition to the United States for highly tailored programs of non-degree,
graduate study and professional development.

Fellowships are awarded
in a range of public policy and social science related fields. The Fulbright
U.S. Scholar Program sends American scholars and professionals to
approximately 125 countries, where they lecture and/or conduct research in a
wide variety of academic and professional fields.

Zimbabwe teen leaves anguish behind, starts future at Bryn
Mawr

Getrude Makurumidze has a soft laugh that kicks in
whenever the college freshman, 18, marvels at all the things she has done
and seen in the few weeks since she walked off a plane from her native
Zimbabwe - her first taste of Thai food, her first swimming lesson, her
first Downward Facing Dog in yoga class.

The laugh and broad smile
are part of her sunny nature that breaks through, jarringly at times, when
she talks about everything she has had to overcome to get from the African
mining town of Zwekwe to the campus of Bryn Mawr College: losing her mother,
a newborn sister, and her father within the span of a few months when she
was 8 years old, all, she eventually learned, from AIDS; losing money for
her education in an economic downturn that devastated Zimbabwe; frequent
moves around the poverty-stricken nation, and the slow drip of revelations
about how she became an AIDS orphan.

"When I finally got to digest it, I
really cried," Makurumidze says from the college's Campus Center, recalling
the long car ride with an uncle who described in detail how the deadly virus
destroyed her family.

But the truth only fueled her desire to become an
AIDS researcher and bring that knowledge home to Zimbabwe, a dream now in
her sights thanks to U.S.-funded scholarship program that landed her in the
Philadelphia suburbs.

In one sense, Makurumidze is a small piece of a
much broader story - a tidal wave in recent years of international students
attending the colleges and universities in the Philadelphia region. Nowhere
has that wave crested higher than at Bryn Mawr, which U.S. News & World
Report has ranked, using the most recent data from 2011-12, as No. 1 among
the top liberal-arts colleges in international students.

Last year,
16 percent of Bryn Mawr students, and 20.8 percent of freshmen, were from
other nations, and administrators said those numbers were growing. The
college is on the cutting edge of a national trend, with the number of
international undergrads and graduate students closing in on 600,000, an
all-time high.

But underneath the skyrocketing stats are thousands of
unique stories, few more compelling than that of Makurumidze, whose cheerful
nature and determination to overcome her plight as an AIDS orphan has amazed
everyone she has met since arriving Aug. 23 in Philadelphia.

"How she
can be so adaptable and positive and enthusiastic considering her
circumstances, and want to do something to stop this [the African AIDS
epidemic], that's remarkable," said David Wolovitz of Glen Mills, who with
his wife, Lainie, is her host family.

Sharon Bain, who teaches the
English seminar for freshmen, said she has already learned a lesson from the
enthusiasm and the backstory of her new student.

"Getrude's example
has challenged the way I perceive survivors of personal tragedy - instead of
a fragile or bitter victim of circumstance," she said, "she is a gracious,
reflective, and confident young woman who is really finding her place at
Bryn Mawr."

Indeed, Makurumidze talks of the school as a cradle, the same
word she uses to describe her late mother, a nurse.

"I wasn't a
spoiled kid, but I could get what I wanted just by asking," she said of her
mother.

Her father taught at a rural mission school and often was not
around. When Makurumidze was 8, her mother became pregnant, then very
ill.

Her mother gave birth to a girl who lived for only a week. "I never
set my eyes on her," Makurumidze recalled, "and I never attended the
funeral." One month later, her mother was dead. Her father died two months
after that.

No one mentioned AIDS, she recalled, because the disease was
shrouded in stigma. Only years later did she learn that her dad had
contracted AIDS from other women and had infected her mom.

When told
her story was tragic, Makurumidze smiled, then laughed. "It gets worse," she
said.

The money from selling the family's three-bedroom house, which
would have paid for Makurumidze's schooling, vanished during a decade of
economic turmoil in Zimbabwe. She was beginning to adjust to a new life with
her dad's elder sister and her family when the husband died after just a
year, so she moved again, this time to a rural mission school with her
mother's younger brother and his family.

"It was really wonderful,"
she recalled. "My aunt was so motherly. She taught me how to be
responsible." Makurumidze didn't mind the hard work, helping to bathe and
dress her three young girl cousins every morning and to assist with their
homework at night.

When her uncle lost his money, she left to live with
family friends in the capital of Harare. They adopted her and paid for her
to go boarding school.

She was a top student who always tried hard
because "of the sacrifices my relatives made to keep me in school," she
said, "so I didn't want those efforts to go in vain."

In her spare
time, she volunteered in an orphanage for HIV-infected children, where
"people bring them gifts, but look at them with scorn. . . . I look at them
as little sisters."

Makurumidze found a way to help them through the U.S.
Student Achievers Program, run by the U.S. Embassy in Harare. The program
picks 32 students out of a pool of up to 1,000 to attend college in America.
It helps with applications, pays for the SAT tests, and arranges for visas
and airfare to colleges that then pay tuition, room and board, and living
expenses.

Makurumidze applied to Haverford College and several others,
but was accepted early-decision at Bryn Mawr, which she thought had the best
research opportunities.

In just four weeks, she has charmed everyone
- from her roommate to the college president.

"I heard a little bit
of her story, but I was really unprepared for how vibrant, open, and smiling
she was," said Bryn Mawr president Jane McAuliffe. "She's going to do
wonderful. She's pretty extraordinary."

Makurumidze's roommate offered to
bring her to California over fall break to see a beach for the first time;
her mentor, a Bryn Mawr alum and AIDS psychiatrist, invited her to New York
at Thanksgiving; and her host family wants her to spend Christmas break with
them.

"It's hectic. It's busy . . . but I love it," she said of grappling
with the complexities of Calculus II, working in the college's cafe, and
learning to swim. She laughed again.

She wasn't so happy when she got
a B on a Spanish test and dejectedly told her host family she had failed.
"The standards!" explained Wolovitz.

Makurumidze calls her family in
Zimbabwe once a week, but won't be able to visit for years, since she can't
afford the airfare. But this tenacious teen has already found her next
home.

"I'm sure by the end of four years," she said of her surroundings,
"it will feel like family."

The
complexity of Zimbabwe's negotiated transition

Vince Musewe says MDC's disposition closest to the best route for
the country

Zimbabwe and the complexity of negotiated political
transition: The MDC's disposition is closer to what is the best route for
the country and our aspirations at this juncture.

"Each of us uses
mental models constantly. Every person in his private life instinctively
uses mental models for decision making. The mental image of the world around
you, which you carry in your head, is a model. All of our decisions are
taken on the basis of models. All of our laws are passed on the basis of
models. All economic and political actions are taken on the basis of
models."

"The sad reality is that, the mental model is fuzzy (or
nebulous). It is incomplete. It is imprecisely stated. Furthermore, within
one individual, a mental model changes with time and even during the flow of
a single conversation. The human mind assembles a few relationships to fit
the context of a discussion. As the subject shifts so does the model. When
only a single topic is being discussed, each participant in a conversation
employs a different mental model to interpret the subject. Fundamental
assumptions differ, but are never brought into the open. Goals are different
and are left unstated. It is little wonder that compromise takes so long.
And it is not surprising that consensus leads to laws and programs that fail
in their objectives or produce new difficulties greater than those that have
been relieved.

"The human mind is not adapted to sensing correctly
the consequences of a mental model. The mental model may be correct in
structure and assumptions but, even so, the human mind - either individually
or as a group consensus - is most apt to draw the wrong
conclusions."

This elucidates for me, the divergence that we are
now experiencing with regard to a new constitution of Zimbabwe between ZANU
(PF) and the MDC. The fact of the matter is that, each party truly believes
it is right, given their mental model and assumptions. What is incumbent
upon us as good citizens is to select and therefore support, which mental
model most closely reflects our own limited understanding of reality;
therein comes the challenge.

I have always disputed that, simply
because a majority of people think alike, it does not necessarily make them
right. The problem with coming up with what one may deem an appropriate
constitution for a new Zimbabwe is that, it will be unfortunately based on
what the majority think (that is; what the majority assume what the
constitution means to them), and not necessarily what it actually means or
what is best for the country. That is the predicament of democracy.

I
can give you an example; I hear that according to the feedback during public
input on the draft constitution, a majority of Zimbabweans are against the
devolution of power. Firstly, this assumes that they understand what this
term means, and secondly, what its implications to their quality of life in
the future are. But you will agree with me, that all of them have different
mental models about what they understand devolution of power to be and its
implications. So simply because most don't like it, does not mean that it is
bad for the country. The same would apply to those issues that the majority
may wish for in the constitution. That is the nature of the counterintuitive
behaviour of complex social systems.

My discomfort now is that, we seem
to have given the full responsibility for finalisation of the most
appropriate constitution to politicians. Politicians are by nature,
prejudiced in their view of reality, if when they seem to be useful.
Politicians are naturally exceedingly influenced by their unstated
aspirations of attaining and keeping political power. Their objectivity is
immensely dubious and inscrutable. Lovemore Madhuku, the chairman of the
National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), is right on the lack of
inclusiveness of the draft constitutional making process that we have
preferred. These are some of the encumbrances of the GPA, but I guess that
is now water under the bridge.

The clash between the MDC and ZANU
(PF) on the constitution for me, reflects two distinct mental models on what
is best for Zimbabweans. Unfortunately, our most recent experience has
taught us that, ZANU (PF) has not necessarily stood for the interests of
Zimbabwe's citizens as a whole. Their competence and capability in managing
the affairs of the country is hitherto questionable. Their arguments and
proposed changes to the draft constitution reflect a mental model which
derives its authority from waging the armed struggle and civil
submissiveness to what they think is best for us - a dictatorship.

On
the other hand, we know that the mental model of MDC is most likely to be
closer to what may be the best route for the country and our aspirations. It
is based on leadership accountability, the attainment of universal civil
liberties for all Zimbabweans regardless of race, economic freedom for all
and social development. This is no doubt, the more attractive mental model
at this juncture.

We must therefore vote YES in the referendum, not
because we necessarily agree with or comprehend the totality of MDC's mental
model or its future implications on our interests, but because it most
probably represents what we think is best for all Zimbabweans compared to
the ZANU (PF) position.

Of course, because social systems are complex and
dynamic in nature, none of us can have the universal "solution" to our
problems. We do not know for sure, how an MDC government will administer the
affairs of the country yet, but we must give them the benefit of any
doubt.

I guess that in the end, the choices we make are but a result of
the steady battle amongst dynamic and unpredictable mental models in our
heads, which constantly renovate at whim. All we really need now is
change.

I do trust that all rational Zimbabweans will do the necessary
when the time comes.

Vince Musewe is an economist currently in
Harare. You may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com

Mugabe
Pushing Zimbabweans to the Brink?

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe speaks during a rally marking
his 88th birthday in Mutare on February 25, 2012. Mugabe marked his 88th
birthday with a trademark attack on gays and foreigners at a mass rally of his
supporters on Saturday to celebrate the occasion. AFP PHOTO / JEKESAI NJIKIZANA
(Photo credit should read JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty
Images)

by Marko
Phiri

Questions are being
asked whether Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe is bent on stirring the country
back to the political chaos of 2008 as his party Zanu PF stalls the constitution
making process.

Without a new
constitution, elections are unlikely to be held as constitutional reform is one
of the conditions theGlobal Political
Agreement(GPA) signed in September 2008 by the three
governing partners set for the holding of fresh polls.

But as Mugabe’s Zanu PF
party digs in, the fear that the party vowed to instil in the hearts of
commercial farmers during the violent farm invasion at the turn of the century
has now been revisited on ordinary folks.

With Mugabe still
wielding control over the very repressive state security apparatus, his jingoism
has led to questions about what his aspirations are for a country recovering
from world-record breaking inflation considering that all pretence to a “popular
uprising” have been quashed by the so-called securocrats.

Gwisai and five others
are taken to court after being charged with treason. (Photo credit, Solidarity
Peace Trust). Professor Munyaradzi Gwisai (center), a prominent lawyer and
former MDC legislator arrested last year and charged with treason after
organising a public meeting where participants watched videos of the Arab
Spring.

At the height of
theArab
Springand the subsequent bloody street clashes
between civilians and the uniformed forces in the Maghreb, Zimbabwe’s Defence
Minister Emmerson Mnagagwa and military men were quick to warn that there was no
room for those aspiring to import the mass protests to
Zimbabwe.

The fact that the
Defence Minister and his barracks cohorts raised this was in itself telling:
they knew Zimbabweans were in fact agitating for those street protests that had
helped oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, a long-time Mugabe
ally.

Indeed Mugabe – not a
soldier himself – has come to epitomise that historical caricature of African
strongmen who in their efforts to perpetuate bad governance, create dystopian
nationhoods by unleashing the terror of the armed forces on
civilians.

It has been well
documented how virtually all sectors of Zimbabwe’s public services have been
stuffed – literally – with “retired” army generals: from the body in charge of
elections, to railways and even football administration, the army badge has
become ubiquitous.

And it does not come as
a surprise then that as the country makes tentative steps towards polls, the
military is at the centre of resistance toward any reforms that threaten
Mugabe’s exit – and by logical extension their own – be they constitutional,
media, electoral – all based on claims that anything else “countermands” the
“sacrifices of the liberation struggle!”

This obsession
with all things military and its toys thus became writ large when it was
announced without any hint of cruel irony that Zimbabwe had boughtweapons from South
Africa,a sign perhaps that nothing is being left to
chance ahead of the elections, yet the very fact that the same political
opponents the guns are aimed at sit with Mugabe in government smacks of the
futility of efforts to create ideal conditions for “a free and fair” election,
it has been argued.

Finance Minister
and MDC secretary general Tendai Biti has previously resisted pressure to pour
millions of dollars into the recruitment of soldiers, and predictably, his
critics within the Zanu PF establishment are quick to claim Biti has his
priorities firmly ensconced in “Western capitals” asMugabe claims the
West did try a military invasion on Zimbabwe!

Yet the fate of a
whole rogues gallery of African autocrats that includes the bloody fall of
Libyan strongman Muamur Gaddafi who shared the same rabid pan-Africanist
idealisms and stood shoulder-shoulder with Mugabe as they spit the usual
rhetoric against “American imperialism” that wasgreeted with glee
and fist-pumpingin Zimbabwe’s metropolitan streets is too
vivid for Mugabe’s Cheka-like operatives, a veritable throwback to Soviet
communists!

Thus it is that many
Zimbabweans who openly swarmed streets in the election euphoria of the year 2000
that shook Mugabe have been reduced to muted blissless reveries imagining they
could well do with localising that kind of Arab Spring
violence.

But Mugabe has always
been quick to warn he brooks no street protests against his 32-year old
stranglehold on power. What is interesting about Zimbabwe is that many would in
general conversations extol the toppling of leaders as happened in Egypt, Libya,
Tunisia, and it was even asked when Mubarak was toppled if Zimbabwe was ripe for
televising its own revolution.

Yet what has become
clear is that the warnings President Mugabe issues out to would-be protestors
have been taken to the letter. After all, Mugabe’s history of violence is well
documented.

From as early as
independence in 1980, Mugabe has not disguised violence as a favoured weapon of
choice when faced with opposition to his rule. He has boasted of having
“degrees in
violence” and has effectively succeeded in cultivating a fear of not only
active participation in politics but even such mundane things as expressing
one’s political preferences.

A recent survey by
a local elections watchdog confirms what has always been known, thatZimbabweans fear
anything to do with politics, and it wasn’t surprising that during
the just ended national census enumeration exercise, some residents refused to
be counted, firmly believing that their personal details were going to be fed
into the database of Mugabe’s feared Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
This spy agency is long accused of hounding Zanu PF opponents.

It can be argued
then that Mugabe has succeeded in instilling unpatriotic fear among Zimbabweans
as a very useful tool to perpetuate what even his trusted lieutenants revealed
in explosiveWikiLeaksfrom the United States Harare Embassy cables
that he had long passed his relevance to local
politics.

But this has still not
damped his resolve to continue with his project which over the years has
appeared to be a pathological determination to take the country down with him,
wherever it is he is going.

The 88-year ruler is
full of ironies and contradictions.

He has insisted that he
will retire from active politics as long as “his people” want him, conveniently
forgetting that he has been rejected by the electorate since 2000. He has also
said he will not step down as Zanu PF leader because there is no one within the
party ranks worthy to untie his sandals, to borrow from Christian
allegory.

This itself is seen as
scathing indictment on his kind of leadership. It has thus been asked how he
could have failed to groom a successor during his long reign, betraying the fact
that he has always wanted to be in charge until his
expiration.

But as his biographer
the late Heidi Holland put it, he still imagines himself as a young lad and is
reliving a lost past. Yet this does not detract from what appears to be a
morbid desire to also revisit the street protests of 1998 for example where
thousands took the police head-on as they protested against bread prices and a
rising cost of living.

These would-be
protestors know only too well the fate that awaits them.

But that is still going
too far as we have the brutality of the March 2008 election violence unleashed
by Mugabe loyalists and state security agents to remind Zimbabweans the folly of
choosing a political party other than Zanu PF.

What then are the
options for millions of Zimbabweans both at home and abroad faced with Mugabe’s
recalcitrance? Not even the United States, long accused of taking up other
people’s fight for democracy seems to have a clue.

A red flag has been
raised before that political instability in Zimbabwe could mean instability in
southern Africa, yet all efforts to redirect Mugabe away from that imminent
chaos have fallen on very obdurate ears. Meanwhile, Zimbabweans stand aside and
look, but they ask: till when?

“Is your battery
secured?”

This latest utterly incredible example of corruption,
theft and abuse of power by Zimbabwe’s police was recounted inMaggie’s Morning
Mirror:

Coming back this morning from a glorious day and night
at the Big Cave Camp in the Matopos we were stopped by several policemen at ‘yet
another’ roadblock.

Totally disinterested in the usual spot checks, i.e.
whether we had radio licenses, vehicle licenses, driver’s licenses, red
triangles or fire extinguishers, this time their sights were set on but one
thing – was our car battery secured ?

We were to use an awful expression “gob smacked”
…

Of course our battery was secured or the car would not
be moving surely? But no, an erstwhile young fellow, who had more than likely
never even been behind the wheel of a car in his life, delved deep into the car
engine and started to wrestle rather violently with our car battery.

To his chagrin it did not move an inch, but then why
should it? A state of the art, beautifully kept Mercedes 270ML the sort of car
that usually does have a pristine engine and normally with a secure
battery?????

Unhappy with his wrestling match, our officer of the
law turned his attention to the car behind us, wherein were the other members of
our family, safely ensconced in my own pristine and beautifully kept motoring
piece.

My future son in law was bemused when the officious
gentleman ordered him imperiously to open the bonnet. Attacking the car battery
with renewed vengeance, he managed to shift it minuscularly, and triumphantly he
berated us loudly and vehemently for having not “secured” our battery correctly.
My son in law was astounded, the battery was about as secure as the fellow’s
head was secured to his neck, but it did not have a “bracket over the
top”.

Explaining patiently that this particular method of
securing batteries was discontinued in the seventies as it could cause batteries
to short, but the police officer would have none of that and herded us towards a
group of fellow officers who were busy fining at least a dozen distraught
tourists for the same heinous misdemeanor.

It was a sad reflection on all that is rotten in the
country right now, Botswanans, South Africans, tourists from Australia and
America, all bundled on the side of the road in the searing heat, paying fines
for the most ridiculous of reasons, while lorries roared past possibly with bald
tyres, no brakes and dodgy drivers licenses.

“I was born here” said one very irate lady, “but I
swear I will never return”.

There was however humor as we all laughed in utter
amazement at this ridiculous situation, and wondered if the police gathered
every morning to decide for what insane reason they were going to fine and
totally flummox and enrage all the local and visiting motorists for
today….

This entry was posted by Sokwanele on
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012 at 11:43 am